Health Insurance
Researchers from the Universities of York and Leeds have been awarded ÷£3.3m from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to find out how a family of proteins known as colicins force their way into bacterial cells before destroying them.
New research describes a molecular tool that shows great promise as a therapeutic for human acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a notoriously treatment-resistant blood cancer. The study, published by Cell Press in the July 2nd issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, describes exciting preclinical studies in which a new therapeutic approach selectively attacks human cancer cells grown in the lab and in animal models of leukemia.
One of the most important challenges in the cancer community today is whether people can, in fact, prevent their own cancers. Susan G. Komen for the Cure® is announcing millions of dollars in long-term grant funding to find out.
Pregnant women who are indigenous to the Andes Mountains deliver more blood and oxygen to their fetuses at high altitude than do women of European descent. The study helps explain why babies of Andean descent born at high altitude weigh more than European babies born at altitude.
A comprehensive overview that explores the prospects and progress of synthetic inhibitors to target cell cycle kinases in cancer forecasts that "novel compounds with increased potency, improved kinase specificity and favorable drug like properties will soon be available for clinical evaluation."
Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have found a way to use a natural compound to stop one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. The research appears online this month in the journal Diabetes, a publication of the American Diabetes Association.
Since the 1970s, there has been much debate surrounding the fact that individuals with autism have difficulty in understanding speech in situations where there is background speech or noise.
Video from portable cameras is analysed to calculate the distance of obstacles and predict the movements of people and cars. This information is then transformed and relayed to a blind person as a three-dimensional "picture" of sound.
Genentech, Inc. announced today that the Phase III study BRAVO showed Lucentis® (ranibizumab injection) improved vision, as measured by the primary endpoint of mean change from baseline in best-corrected visual acuity at six months, in patients with macular edema due to branch retinal vein occlusion. The safety profile of Lucentis was consistent with previous experience and no new adverse events related to Lucentis were observed in the study. Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is a common cause of vision loss that occurs when blood flow through a retinal vein becomes blocked, such as by a blood clot.
Bausch & Lomb Vision Care announces a renewed focus on its ReNu® brand of lens care solutions through a U.S. consumer need-based rebranding effort that introduces eye care practitioners and consumers to ReNu® Fresh Lens Comfort™ and ReNu® Sensitive Eyes®. Additionally, the company has recently established a dedicated U.S. lens care solution and eye care product sales force that is primarily responsible for engaging with eye care practitioners and keeping them updated on the benefits of Bausch & Lomb products for their patients and their practice.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA), UK, informed yesterday 3rd July, 2009, in its weekly update that the total number of confirmed human cases of Swine Flu A(H1N1) infection has reached 7,447. British health authorities estimate that the figure will be over 100,000 by the end of this summer.
Researchers at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) have discovered a key switch that makes stem cells turn into the type of muscle cells that reside in the wall of blood vessels. The same switch might be used in the future to limit growth of vascular muscle cells that cause narrowing of arteries leading to heart attacks and strokes, limit formation of blood vessels that feed cancers, or make new blood vessels for organs that are not getting enough blood flow.
A newly discovered mechanism controls whether muscle cells in blood vessels hasten the development of both atherosclerosis and Alzheimer"s disease, according to an article published online in the journal Nature.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to buy or use Hardcore Energize Bullet or New Whey liquid products sold in test tube-like vials due to suspected product tampering. The products are being recalled.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) announced that the initial offering period of its tender offer for all outstanding shares of common stock of Cougar Biotechnology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CGRB) expired at midnight (Eastern time) on July 2, 2009. The offer was conducted through a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson named Kite Merger Sub, Inc.
Age Concern and Help the Aged Charity Director Michelle Mitchell said:
Nearly a quarter of married and cohabiting women who took part in a survey said that they
To meet the growing needs of its high-volume emergency department (ED), Huntington Memorial Hospital has acquired Toshiba"s Aquilion® ONE dynamic volume CT system.
WHO leaders and international health ministers met Thursday for a two-day meeting in Cancun, Mexico, to share the lessons learned from the spread of H1N1 (swine flu) (Xinhua, 7/3) and strategies for "battling the pandemic," the AP/Washington Post reports (Rodriguez, 7/2).
Parkison"s Disease Drugs Could Treat MDR-TB, XDR-TB
Mid-Missouri Group Sees Increase In People Seeking HIV/AIDS Services, Patients Testing Positive For HIV
The Iowa Independent looks at the complexity of changing Iowa"s HIV transmission law. The Independent writes that Iowa "isn"t a state with a high percentage of people living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Prosecutions related to this particular law are often highly publicized as much for their uniqueness as for a public"s need to know. In addition, of the statute"s 24 convictions since its inception, three have been appealed and subsequently affirmed by the Iowa Supreme Court." The article features comments from a former state legislator and a member of the legislative study committee that could potentially reconsider this law (Waddington, 7/3).
A recent directive to streamline the HIV testing consent process in Massachusetts as well as consent forms "no longer hav[ing] to accompany test specimens to the lab," are bringing "the state closer to a CDC recommendation that clinicians provide HIV screening on an opt-out basis," according to a Boston Globe editorial. "The opt-out provision is at the heart" of legislation sponsored by state Sen. Patricia Jehlen (D) that would end the state"s requirement of written consent for HIV testing "and instead have healthcare providers inform patients verbally that the test is planned but that they can decline it," the editorial states, adding, "The Jehlen bill would help destigmatize HIV testing itself" (7/6).
OmniGuide, Inc., the developer of the first and only flexible CO2 laser fiber based on breakthrough photonic bandgap technology, announced the results of a pre-clinical study comparing the Company"s fiber scalpels to conventional incision methods in neurosurgery. In the study, surgeons from the Barrow Neurological Institute reported that careful studies of incisions produced in live brain tissue with fiber delivered CO2 laser radiation produced precise cuts while minimally effecting adjacent brain tissue when compared with a widely used reference technique. The study, led by Drs. Mark Preul, Robert W. Ryan, and Robert Spetzler of the Neurosurgery Research Laboratory, Barrow Neurological Institute, in Phoenix, Arizona, was presented at the annual conference of the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons in San Diego, California.
George K. Michalopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., Maud L. Menten Professor and chair of pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, has received the 2009 American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) Rous-Whipple Award.
A procedure that sends targeted energy into the heart through a catheter can be used to treat a common type of irregular heartbeat, but little is known about the treatment"s long-term benefits and the best methods and circumstances for applying it, according to a new report funded by HHS" Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Mercedes Walton, CEO of Cryo-Cell International, one of the largest and most established family cord blood banks, is praising legislative progress to date and encouraging continued momentum for existing bills through the second half of the year. H.R. 1718, the "Family Cord Blood Banking Act," and H.R. 2107, the "Cord Blood Education and Awareness Act of 2009" would continue to build on the progress from the first half of the year to enable and promote the continued research, public awareness and tax benefits related to storing and using cord blood, all of which provide great benefit to families across America.
Patients with atrial fibrillation, common in those with advanced chronic heart failure, have an increased risk of hospitalization due to heart failure, according to new research from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The findings, published in June in the European Heart Journal, also suggest that atrial fibrillation is not associated with an increased risk of death in heart failure patients, contradicting previous assumptions.
The findings of the PATRICIA study are reported in an article Online First and in a future edition of The Lancet. It shows that the HPV-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine (GlaxoSmithKline) has high efficacy against the precancerous cervical lesions that can eventually lead to cervical cancer. There is confirmation that the vaccine also shows cross-protective efficacy against other oncogenic (that cause cancer) Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types closely related to HPV-16/18. In addition, it also shows efficacy in the cohorts relevant to universal mass vaccination and catch-up programs. The article is written by Dr Jorma Paavonen, of the University of Helsinki, Finland, and collaborators.
A recent study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) reports that patients taking statins with associated muscle complaints may have structural muscle damage.
For the first time, families of murder victims have joined with families of persons with mental illness who have been executed to speak out against the death penalty.
"The nation"s largest insurers, hospitals and medical groups have hired more than 350 former government staff members and retired members of Congress in hopes of influencing their old bosses and colleagues, according to an analysis of lobbying disclosures and other records," the Washington Post reports. The Post"s analysis of lobbying disclosure records shows that three-quarters of major health firms have hired an insider to lobby on their behalf; half of those insiders once worked for the key senators and congressional committees that are now shaping the reform proposals.
"Some of the "bluest" states that propelled Obama into the White House are among those most likely to pay more in taxes to fund expanded health insurance coverage and make other changes to the system, analysts say," The Los Angeles Times reports. "People in states such as Illinois, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York have a higher share of wealthier taxpayers and residents who get generous healthcare plans through work -- and both sets of people may be tapped to raise money for the healthcare overhaul. Moreover, those states have less to gain from a national effort to expand health insurance coverage because their residents already are more likely to have insurance than are Americans as a whole. Those conclusions by a range of policy analysts may point to future tension in the healthcare debate: Though battle lines so far have been drawn largely in partisan terms, lurking regional divisions could fracture Congress even further."
The hospital industry is close to agreeing to cut $150 billion to $170 billion over the next decade as part of a deal with the White House and congressional democrats to help pay for health care reform. While not final, the deal could be announced within days.
As Minnesota braces for some cuts to public health programs, the state"s network of community health centers is being buoyed by money from the federal stimulus that will expand coverage to the un- and underinsured in that state, The Minnesota Post reports.
Aine Brady, T.D., Minister for Older People, officially launched the "Directory of Services for Older People in the Stoneybatter Area".
The Mayo Clinic Cancer Center (MCCC) received an additional five years of National Cancer Institute (NCI) funding and re-designation as a comprehensive cancer center, according to Robert Diasio, M.D., the center"s director. Mayo Clinic has the only NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center conducting research at three distinct locations across the United States.
Despite growing evidence that cancer is becoming more prevalent amongst ethnic minority groups, news figures out today at the start of Ethnic Minority Cancer Awareness Week show that cancer awareness levels are critically low amongst this cohort.
Children who play an online game promoting healthy foods and beverages appear more likely to choose nutritious snacks than those who play a game promoting unhealthy products, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Pinpointing the genes involved in human brain cancer can be like looking for a needle in a haystack, and sometimes the needle you find may not be the right one. By comparing human and canine genomes, researchers at North Carolina State University have discovered that a gene commonly believed to be involved in meningiomas-tumors that affect the meninges, or thin covering, of the human brain and account for one out of four adult brain tumors -may not be as key for tumor formation as previously thought, and they"ve narrowed the search for the real culprit.
The future of organ transplantation could include microscopic beads that create "designer" immune cells to help patients tolerate their new organ, Medical College of Georgia researchers say.
The number of prescriptions in Canada for cardiovascular medications has been increasing over the past decade, with a 200% increase in costs, found a new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). In 2006, total costs of cardiovascular medications exceeded $5 billion, with statins accounting for almost 40% of the expenditure.
Chemical dependency and recovery in patients and physicians are closely examined in a series of articles and editorials in the July 2009 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The subject is especially timely. As the immense challenges, including potential tragedies, of prescription chemical addiction and abuse are being discussed, these articles offer crucial overview, direction and optimism.
In addition to greatly improving overall health and longevity, losing weight is an effective fall prevention strategy for persons with obesity, according to a new study from the American College of Sports Medicine.
The Washington Times recently included a two-part series examining President Obama"s proposed reallocation of abstinence-only sex education funding in his 2010 budget plan. The proposal would redirect funding toward a new Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative that uses comprehensive sex education curriculums. Summaries of the series appear below.~ Part 1: Obama"s budget proposal states that funds for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative should go to programs that are proven to help delay first sex, increase contraceptive use or reduce teen pregnancy, though a few advocates of comprehensive sex education say such goals are laudable but too narrow, the Times reports. William Smith -- vice president for public policy for the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States -- and James Wagoner -- president of Advocates for Youth -- wrote in a June 17 blog entry that preventing unintended pregnancy among teens is "incredibly important" but that it is "not the only sexual and reproductive health issue facing our nation"s youth." They continued that it would be more beneficial to "expand the scope" of the initiative so it can serve "all young people in all communities, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth, whose needs fall wholly outside of the narrow teen-pregnancy-prevention framework." According to the Times, Smith said in an interview that money allotted for the initiative would be best used if it went to programs focused on "good outcomes" for youth, "not these disaster-aversion silos that don"t serve us well." Wagoner said that advocates have been "very clear in giving the president credit for shifting tracks here in a big way" by ending funding for abstinence-only sex education. However, he added that it is "our job to press for the right destination" and to see the changes implemented into law (Wetzstein, Washington Times, 6/28).~ Part 2: Some supporters of Obama"s proposal argue that it is "exactly the right idea, at the right time," as the U.S. teen birth rate has increased in the last two years after 14 years of decline, the Times reports. Sarah Brown, CEO of the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, said that Obama"s proposal is the "first really focused expenditure on effective teen pregnancy prevention programs." Brown noted that the U.S. has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and birth in the industrialized world. She said that the best programs will address one or more of the three goals of the initiative -- delaying first sex, increasing contraceptive use or reducing teen pregnancy. Last month, about 175 organizations sent a letter to Obama and members of Congress calling for an expanded initiative that would include subjects such as sexually transmitted infections and abusive relationships. However, Brown said that many teen pregnancy prevention programs include discussion of STIs and other areas, "[s]o we really don"t see much tension here" (Wetzstein, Washington Times, 7/5).
"Society of Interventional Radiology 2009 Standards Division Guidelines" is the
The resumption of fighting in Mogadishu, Somalia"s capital, has forced the majority of people living in the Yaqshid, Karan, and Abdul Azziz districts in the north of the city to flee, according to the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Mçİdecins Sans Frontiç¨res (MSF). Continuous shelling, explosions, and open combat among various armed groups have claimed the lives of dozens of civilians and plunged the city into chaos. As a consequence, MSF has been forced to close its medical centers in the area.
According to WHO (World Health Organization), the total number of confirmed swine flu A(H1N1) cases of human infections stands at 9,830, including 79 deaths. The numbers of confirmed cases are rising by approximately 1,000 per day, says WHO. Japan has seen confirmed cases rise sharply over the last few days.
National research on income and wealth in Australia has confirmed AMA observations that there is a clear connection between unemployment and health.
Researchers at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in Wellington, New Zealand have found that abnormally proliferating human T-cells, rapidly dividing cancer cells such as primary myeloid and lymphoid leukemic blast cells undergo programmed cell death when exposed briefly to the investigational anti-tumor drug phenoxodiol.
Current combination malaria therapies recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) provide adequate treatment for mild malaria, according to a Cochrane Systematic Review of the evidence. However, selected trials had high failure rates for some combinations and evidence for the effectiveness of anti-malarial therapies is lacking in some vulnerable groups.
As the Lords Science Committee publishes its report on genomic medicine, Which? scientific policy adviser, Dr Rob Reid, says:
ChemoCentryx, Inc., announced that data from the company"s PROTECT-1 (the Prospective Randomized Oral Therapy Evaluation in Crohn"s disease Trial) Phase II/III clinical trial of Traficet-EN(TM) (CCX282-B) in patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn"s disease will be presented in an oral session at the upcoming 2009 Digestive Disease Week (DDW) meeting. Traficet-EN is an orally-available small molecule drug that controls the inappropriate immune system response underlying inflammatory bowel diseases by blocking the CCR9 chemokine receptor. Targeting the CCR9 chemokine receptor represents a novel approach for the treatment of Crohn"s disease and other inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal system. DDW 2009 will be held on May 30 - June 4, 2009, at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois.
Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the University of Heidelberg, Germany, have come a step closer to understanding how cholesterol levels are regulated. In a study published in the journal Cell Metabolism, the researchers identified 20 genes that are involved in this process. Besides giving scientists a better idea of where to look to uncover the mechanisms that ensure cholesterol balance is maintained, the discovery could lead to new treatments for cholesterol-related diseases.
Following evidence of tumor shrinkage in a recent clinical trial at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ), new research has just begun to further measure the effects of a drug commonly used for Lou Gehrig"s disease (ALS) in the treatment of melanoma. CINJ is a center of excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
NexMed, Inc. (Nasdaq: NEXM), a developer of products based on the NexACT® technology, announced the mutual decision with Novartis to terminate the licensing agreement for NM100060, a topically-applied treatment for onychomycosis, commonly known as nail fungus. NexMed entered into the exclusive, worldwide agreement with Novartis in September 2005, under which Novartis assumed all clinical development, regulatory, manufacturing and commercialization responsibilities for NM100060.
Have you ever covered yourself with a blanket to stave off the shivers? A new study shows that a blanket can also help alleviate shivering in patients who have been cooled to prevent brain damage.
Pending climate change legislation and regulations for the Renewable Fuel Standard are creating an uncertain environment for investment in advanced biofuels and biobased chemicals. The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) announced that executives of biofuel and industrial biotechnology companies as well as representatives of NGOs will offer their views on how the industry might fare under carbon accounting rules during the 2009 World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, to be held July 19-22, 2009 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Medical mycologists in The South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (STCEID) and the Department of Biology at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) have significantly advanced the fight against San Joaquin Valley Fever, a respiratory infection of humans, commonly called Valley Fever, which is caused by the Coccidioides fungus. For the first time, the researchers have genetically engineered a live, attenuated vaccine that successfully protects mice against Valley Fever, known in scientific circles as coccidioidomycosis.
University of Texas at San Antonio Assistant Professor of Psychology Rebekah Smith has been awarded a five-year, $1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study adult memory. To conduct the research, beginning in July, Smith will be recruiting younger adult volunteers aged 18-30 and older adults, aged 60 and above.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 16 percent of children ages 6-19 years are overweight or obese - a number that has tripled since 1980.
Iatrogenic perforation of cancer of the esophagus or the gastroesophageal (GE) junction is a severe complication. Its incidence has increased most likely because of more aggressive palliative endoscopic therapy and the current widespread use of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) for accurate preoperative staging. Therapy, i.e. conservative versus surgical treatment remains controversial.
Dr. SleepGood, Inc. has announced the release of the SnoreSling™, a non-invasive fabric product that could help millions of sleep apnea and snoring sufferers, as well as their bed partners, finally get a good night"s rest.
Yale University researchers have found that a single gene plays a key role in the development of atherosclerosis in mice. The research provides insight into the causes of atherosclerosis, or the hardening of the arteries caused by a buildup of plaque.
A comparison of surgical treatments for sciatica finds that the minimally invasive procedure known as tubular diskectomy does not provide a significant difference in improvement of functional disability compared to the more common surgery, conventional microdiskectomy, according to a study in the July 8 issue of JAMA.
The University of Nottingham and leading healthcare systems supplier EMIS welcomed a new, independent validation of the QRISK formula for identifying those most at risk of developing heart disease. The two organisations worked together, through the not-for-profit partnership QResearch, to develop the ground-breaking formula which has been strongly endorsed in new research published in the BMJ .
ARYx Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARYX), a biopharmaceutical company, announced results from its Phase 2/3 clinical trial, EmbraceAC, comparing its novel anticoagulant agent tecarfarin (previously ATI-5923) with the leading oral anticoagulant warfarin. In this trial, tecarfarin demonstrated efficacy essentially the same as in earlier Phase 2 studies but did not achieve the primary endpoint of superiority over warfarin, as measured by time in therapeutic range (TTR). This was due to the virtually unprecedented performance of warfarin in this trial. Using the International Normalized Ratio (INR), which is the standard measure of anticoagulation to evaluate TTR, the patients in the trial who were administered tecarfarin stayed within the target therapeutic range 74.0% of the time treated as compared to those patients receiving warfarin who stayed within the target therapeutic range 73.2% of the time (p=0.506). The result for the warfarin group was unexpected based upon the extensive history of prior studies and published literature for the drug. Tecarfarin appeared to be well tolerated by the patients in this Phase 2/3 clinical trial.
Typhoid fever is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Salmonella typhi. It is also known as enteric fever, or commonly just typhoid. Typhoid fever and paratyphoid fever are clinically indistinguishable diseases, collectively called enteric fever. It easily spreads through contaminated food and water supplies and close contact with others who are infected. The illness is characterized by very high fever, sweating, gastroenteritis, and diarrhea. Although typhoid is very rare in the developed world, it is still a serious health threat in the developing world. Typhoid is treatable with antibiotics.
Eisai Corporation of North America announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the company"s supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for an alternative five-day dosing regimen for Dacogen(R) (decitabine for injection) to treat patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). MDS is a potentially life-threatening group of bone marrow diseases that limit the production of functional blood cells.
Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: WPI), a leader in generic and specialty branded pharmaceuticals, today announced that its subsidiary, Watson Laboratories, Inc., has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration to market its over-the-counter Nicotine Polacrilex Gum USP, 2 mg and 4 mg strengths in the coated fruit and cinnamon flavors.
Governor Edward G. Rendell announced that representatives of his office, the departments of Health and Education, and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency will participate in a federally sponsored H1N1 Influenza Preparedness Summit in Maryland on July 9.
Many global companies have activated a pandemic response plan to the threat of an A(H1N1) "swine flu" pandemic, according to a survey released by The Conference Board.
Today the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced its latest prevention and treatment numbers, noting in particular that Global Fund-financed programs have put 2.3 million people on treatment for HIV/AIDS, 5.4 million people have been treated for tuberculosis, and 88 million insecticide-treated nets have been distributed to prevent malaria infection. In addition, more than 500,000 HIV-positive pregnant women have been treated to prevent their babies from being born with HIV. Over the past year, the number of people accessing ARVs through Global Fund-financed programs has increased by 31%, the number given tuberculosis drugs has increased by 38% and the number of nets distributed has increased by 49%.
The IFPMA was invited to attend a special session of the United Nations (UN) in Geneva on health in Africa and other least developed countries, organized by the UN Economic and Social Commission (ECOSOC). Michael D. Boyd, Acting Director General of the IFPMA, gave a briefing on the research-based pharmaceutical industry"s contribution to improving health in the developing world, speaking to an audience which included foreign ministers of UN Member States and senior UN officials.
AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., issued the following statement today on President Obama"s nomination of Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., to be the new director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH):
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Tuesday that GOP senators would not use procedural maneuvers to delay Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor"s confirmation hearing, CQ Today reports. According to CQ Today, "It could be in the Republicans" own political interest to go ahead with the Sotomayor hearings as currently scheduled," because it would allow them to "argue that the Senate Finance Committee cannot mark up its version of a health care overhaul next week because four of its GOP members" -- including ranking Republican Charles Grassley (Iowa) -- also serve on the Judiciary Committee. The first hearing is scheduled to begin Monday. Sessions said, "We"re going to do our best to be ready Monday" (Perine, CQ Today, 7/7). Barring any unexpected developments, Sotomayor should be confirmed before the August recess, according to The Hill. Republicans this spring had pushed for delaying a floor vote to the fall, but the change of course shows that Democrats "continue to enjoy the upper hand" in the confirmation process, The Hill reports. It also indicates that most Republicans agree with Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) that only a week of hearings will be necessary (Rushing, The Hill, 7/7).
Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) is launching a new campaign to reduce levels of undiagnosed HIV by encouraging gay men, and particularly younger gay men, to start regularly attending sexual health clinics. The campaign will use a stand-alone website (http://www.betterclinics.co.uk), media adverts, posters, condom packs and pin badges to dispel some of the myths about clinics and what the testing process involves.
Thirteen people charged with "disruption of Congress" for standing and shouting pro-single-payer system slogans during a health care reform committee hearing settled their cases, The Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune reports.
Kenya
Water for Work and Home, an innovative wellbeing organisation, is providing the essential water to keep the "living monuments" hydrated whilst on the Fourth Plinth.
The relationship between migraine headaches in women and a significant reduction in breast cancer risk has been confirmed in a follow-on study to landmark research published last year and conducted by scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The new study found a 26 percent reduced risk of breast cancer among both premenopausal and postmenopausal women with a clinical diagnosis of migraines.
The doctor"s mouth opens, and "medicalese" pours forth: words like "pyrosis" and "myocardial infarction." The patient"s eyes glaze over. If only the doctor said "heartburn" or "heart attack," the patient could learn what caused the chest pain.
A registered learning disabilities nurse, Dzikamai Mussett Mhakayakora, has been jailed for nine months for fraud after being investigated by NHS Counter Fraud and the UK Border Agency (UKBA), at Chelmsford Crown Court (18th May).
For the first time, an international group of researchers has found genetic evidence linking schizophrenia to a specific region of DNA - on chromosome 6. This is the same area where key genes for immune function are located. The LSUHSC research team was led by Nancy Buccola, APRN, PMH CNS-BC, Assistant Professor of Clinical Nursing at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, who also coordinated the ten clinical sites. The work, Common variants on chromosome 6p22.1 are associated with schizophrenia, along with two related papers, is published in the July 1, 2009 issue of the journal Nature.
bioMçİrieux (Paris:BIM), a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, announced that an AOAC-RI certification has been granted (No. 060903) to the VIDAS® UP E. coli O157 (Including H7) method for screening beef, selected produce and irrigation water. Food manufacturers in the U.S. and many other countries rely on AOAC-RI certified testing methods to release their products on the market. The new solution is based on recombinant phage protein, the latest technology available for food pathogen screening, which offers unique specificity and sensitivity. E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially lethal strain of Escherichia coli that has caused many food outbreaks in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Europe.
When soldiers leave base for a 3-day mission, how much water should they bring? Military planners and others have long wrestled with that question, but new research from the Journal of Applied Physiology may now provide them an accurate answer.
Ganglion cysts are fluid-filled swellings that tend to form on top of joints or tendons in the wrists, hands, and feet. They have the appearance of firm or spongy sacs of liquid and their insides consist of a sticky, clear, thick, jelly-like fluid. Ganglion cysts are idiopathic, which means they generally form for unknown reasons. As painless and benign (not dangerous) growths, ganglion cysts often do not require treatment and go away on their own.
One-in-five (21%) primary care trusts (PCTs) do not offer "clinical assessment
Siemens Enterprise Communications has won a four year multi-million pound framework contract to provide Barts and The London NHS Trust with an integrated Enterasys fixed and wireless LAN and security infrastructure. The first phase in a three stage communications programme, the new infrastructure - due for completion in 2010 - will provide a single network able to handle all optical images, video streaming and traffic from multiple wireless devices and PCs for 300 beds at Barts hospital.
The research team is headed by Prof. Kobi Rosenblum of the University of Haifa"s Department of Neurobiology and Ethology and has been awarded a grant of $815,000
MAP Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAPP) announced that it has received a notice of termination of the license agreement with AstraZeneca related to the company"s Unit Dose Budesonide (UDB) product candidate. The termination was received on July 8, 2009, effective immediately. All rights licensed to AstraZeneca in the agreement now revert to the company. MAP Pharmaceuticals plans to suspend development of UDB, which did not meet primary endpoints in a Phase 3 trial in children 12-months to eight years of age with mild asthma.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMLN) announced positive results from a 28-week dose-ranging study of pramlintide/metreleptin, a combination treatment comprising pramlintide, an analog of the natural hormone amylin, and metreleptin, an analog of the natural hormone leptin, in overweight and obese patients. This Phase 2 study successfully characterized patients who responded best to treatment and also provided important information to inform dose selection.
ZyGEM Corp. Ltd., a provider of innovative enzyme-based products for DNA extraction and other life sciences applications, today announced the availability of a new application note documenting that its prepGEM(R) Bacteria DNA extraction kit is capable of producing high quality, ready-to-analyze DNA from a broad range of bacterial species, including mixed or unknown sample types. This addresses an important unmet need --current DNA extraction methods typically require the use of different enzymes for each type of bacteria tested. The prepGEM(R) Bacteria kit also uses a single closed-tube system that reduces extraction time and cost while protecting the sample from contamination and making the kit easily adaptable for automation.
Pharmaceutical firm Biogen Idec announced that the American drug watchdog the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for its multiple sclerosis (MS) drug PEGylated interferon beta-1a (BIIB017).
Over 600 drummers will gather in Birmingham"s National Indoor Arena on Monday 13 July to beat a world record in aid of the MS Society.
A new Medicare analysis by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found a "double failure" at U.S. hospitals. Its release comes as the White House and Congress seek ways to reward quality over quantity of care in health care reform. USA Today reports that "Too many people die needlessly at U.S. hospitals, according to a sweeping new Medicare analysis showing wide variation in death rates between the best hospitals and the worst. The analysis examined death rates for heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia at more than 4,600 hospitals across the USA. At 5.9% of hospitals, patients with pneumonia died at rates significantly higher than the national average. With heart failure, 3.4% of hospitals had death rates higher than the average, and 1.2% of hospitals were higher when it came to heart attack. Researchers also found that the majority of U.S. hospitals operate the equivalent of revolving doors for their patients. One of every four heart failure patients and slightly less than one in five heart attack and pneumonia patients land back in the hospital within 30 days, data show."
A focus on end-of-life care emphasizes social and spiritual elements over aggressive medical intervention.
Schizophrenia is one of the most disabling diseases, and frequent relapses and rehospitalization as a result of the disease place enormous burdens on patients, caregivers and society. According to two new studies, the use of RISPERDAL® CONSTA® (risperidone) Long-Acting Treatment (RLAT) may improve clinical and functional outcomes and reduce rates of rehospitalization among patients with schizophrenia. Results of the studies were presented this week at a major medical meeting.
National Cancer Institute: Racial Disparities in Breast Cancer Mortality Are Not Driven by Estrogen Receptor Status Alone -- "Black women who are diagnosed with breast cancer have a higher probability of dying from the disease than white women, regardless of their estrogen receptor status," a study published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute finds, according to a NCI description of the document. By comparing the breast cancer rates for black and white women using data from the NCI"s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Result (SEER) program, researchers found that the "differences in breast cancer mortality may reflect racial differences in access and response to innovative breast cancer treatments, as well as other biological and non-biological factors" and "differences in outcomes in the first few years post-diagnosis make up nearly all of the disparity" (7/7).
City council members and health officials in Washington, D.C., are asking "health care providers to make HIV testing part of routine patient treatment," the Washington Examiner reports. According to the Examiner, "Health officials want all medical providers in the city to implement an "opt-out" policy in which patients would be tested automatically for HIV unless they choose to refuse the test." Shannon Hader, director of the HIV/AIDS Administration, said 70 percent of district residents newly diagnosed with HIV had been to a medical provider in the previous 12 months and were not offered HIV testing. "Health officials also are working to improve condom access and distribution, one the most critical preventative measures in combating HIV," and "the city has asked for $4 million from [CDC] to support a campaign aimed at encouraging people to get tested and practice safe sex," the Examiner reports (7/9).
President Obama has announced that two Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center investigators have been awarded the nation"s highest honor for scientists at the beginning of their independent research careers. Basic scientist Harmit Singh Malik, Ph.D., and cancer-prevention researcher Ulrike "Riki" Peters, Ph.D., are among 100 researchers to receive the prestigious 2008 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Each will be honored in a ceremony this fall at the White House.
The majority of post-menopausal women are uncomfortable talking about vaginal dryness and pain and are reluctant to seek medical help, according to results from a new international survey presented today at the European Congress on Menopause in London. Results from the survey show that over a third (39 percent) of post-menopausal women experience these symptoms of vaginal atrophy and 40 percent of women who have recently experienced vaginal dryness and pain said it interferes with their sex life, yet seven out of ten would not discuss the problem with their physician (only 30 percent of women would consider talking to a gynaecologist, and only 29 percent would consider talking to a GP).
Chemists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Scripps Research Institute have developed an innovative technique to create cheap but highly stable chemicals that have the potential to take the place of the antibodies used in many standard medical diagnostic tests.
-- The NPHS influenza surveillance scheme, which records reports of diagnoses of flu from more than 300 GP practices across Wales, shows low levels of influenza activity in all parts of Wales. Further detail can be found on the NPHS website: http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/page.cfm?orgid=457&pid=38241
Attractive males release fewer sperm per mating to maximise their chances of producing offspring across a range of females, according to a new paper on the evolution of ejaculation strategies. The findings by researchers at UCL (University College London) and the University of Oxford suggest that, paradoxically, matings with attractive males may be less fertile than those with unattractive ones.
A new rapid test can confirm quickly and accurately that breast cancer has most likely not spread into adjacent lymph nodes, offering reassurance to patients and reducing the need for a second operation.
Researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine identified a novel link between ITCH, a gene known to regulate inflammation in the body and NOD2, a gene which causes the majority of genetic Crohn"s Disease diagnoses. ITCH, when malfunctioning, causes widespread inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, gastritis, uncontrolled skin inflammation, and pulmonary pneumonitis. Derek Abbott, M.D., Ph.D., and his team of researchers found that ITCH also influences NOD2-induced inflammation. These findings, published in the August 11th issue of Current Biology, suggest a common pathophysiology exists between multiple inflammatory diseases. The unexpected finding of the interaction between these genes offers the possibility of a new drug target, which would be effective in treating Crohn"s disease - a chronic disorder causing inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.
Aperio Technologies, Inc., (Aperio), a global leader in digital pathology for the healthcare and life sciences industry, is pleased to announce the launch of a digital pathology solution for Immunohistochemistry (IHC) designed specifically for the clinical market. Aperio"s digital IHC solution is the only commercially available FDA-cleared system allowing pathologists to run quantitative IHC image analysis while reading slides on a computer monitor.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is arguably the world"s most successful infectious agent because it knows how to avoid elimination by slowing its own growth to a crawl. Now, a report in the July 10 issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, offers new insight into the bugs" talent for meager living.
Lewis Kuller, M.D., Dr.P.H., distinguished professor of public health and professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, has been designated a 2009 American Heart Association Distinguished Scientist for major contributions to cardiovascular disease and stroke research.
A sometimes fatal "superbug" is popping up in hospitals, other health care settings and even communities where healthy people live. It"s called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, (MRSA "mer"-sa"). Health experts urge common-sense steps by medical workers and the public to slow its spread.
22nd Congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP), 12 - 16 September 2009, Istanbul, Turkey
UroToday.com - Increasingly surgical education is being focused on specific procedural training techniques. These researchers at the University of Minnesota have shown the importance of breaking the procedure down into its specific steps and deconstructing the various tasks applied to each step of the procedure.
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries. ~ "World Population Day 2009 -- Time To Finally Make Maternal Health a Priority," Sharon Camp, Huffington Post blogs: World Population Day on Saturday "serves as an urgent reminder that ... governments around the world must boost investments in global health," especially maternal health, despite the global economic recession, Camp, president and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute, writes. Efforts "have fallen short" to date as the "financial res and political will needed to promote maternal health have been lagging," Camp writes. She notes that the nations are "hardly any closer" to achieving the United Nations" Millennium Development Goals of reducing maternal deaths by 75% and achieving universal access to reproductive health services by 2015. A "critical shortcoming" of recent efforts to achieve the MDGs has been the "reluctance of some governments and advocates to accept that better maternal health cannot be achieved without acknowledging, committing and fully funding sexual and reproductive health services," Camp writes. In particular, "this includes contraceptive services to help women time and space pregnancies as well as treatment of septic or incomplete abortions," and "providing safe abortion services consistent with individual country law," according to Camp. However, there is "some good news," she writes, noting that "[n]ew momentum behind worldwide advocacy efforts may yield the res and political commitment needed to make a difference." Camp concludes, "It is precisely because res are scarce that they must be used wisely and efficiently in a way that serves both humanitarian and economic development goals. Investing in saving women"s lives fits this bill" (Camp, Huffington Post blogs, 7/9).~ "Proposed Amendments Would Deny Health Care to Women," Lois Uttley, RH Reality Check: In a blog post addressed to "Gentlemen of the Congress," Uttley asks if they have "forgotten about the women" in their lives as they work on crafting health care reform legislation. Uttley writes,"[S]ome of you are wasting valuable time and taxpayer dollars proposing amendments that would deny health care" to several groups of people, including women. She writes that Republican Sens. Mike Enzi (Wyo.), Orrin Hatch (Utah) and Tom Coburn (Okla.) this week submitted amendments to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that would ban coverage for abortion services; protect health care providers and insurers from ""discrimination" for refusing to provide health care requested by their patients," including abortion and emergency contraception; allow federally qualified health centers to "not provide abortions and still get government grants"; and require that "[a]ny independent medical board appointed to determine the benefits that would be included in national health reform coverage would have to include "professional ethicists ... with specialty in rights of the life of the unborn."" Meanwhile, Democrats "are spending far too much time trying to win over colleagues who are never going to vote for health reform, no matter if you offer them abortion exclusions or new provider "conscience" laws or other provisions that would hobble health reform," Uttley writes. She continues, "Don"t forget that women are among the strongest supporters of moving quickly on health reform this year" because they are "grassroots experts on what is broken in the current health system," such as insurers" labeling of pregnancy as a "pre-existing condition," using "gender rating" in individual policies and excluding contraception coverage. She asks, "So what do women want?" Uttley provides a "list we"ve been compiling at Raising Women"s Voices for the Health Care We Need." Among the priorities, the list stresses that lawmakers should keep "moral values" out of the debate and that health insurance must be affordable, more simple to understand, fair, portable and universal (Uttley, RH Reality Check, 7/9).~ "Reports
Kaiser Health News reports on health insurance exchanges, a concept now being considered in the context of Congress"s health overhaul proposals. "The seemingly simple idea behind exchanges - one-stop shopping for insurance - masks the cornerstone role they may play in a national overhaul of the health system. President Obama supports the idea, and exchanges are included in most of the health care proposals now before Congress. Done right, proponents say, exchanges could transform how insurance is sold, giving individuals and small businesses improved purchasing power, increasing price competition among insurers and creating standardized benefits. Done poorly, analysts and critics say, exchanges could drive up insurance costs and encourage employers to drop coverage, unraveling the system that insures most working Americans. While it"s still unclear what Congress will do, Senate Democrats have looked closely at Massachusetts. Here"s how it works there: The state established its exchange, called the Health Connector, mainly for the benefit of individuals who aren"t insured by employers. They include the self-employed and the unemployed, two categories of people who traditionally have the most difficulty obtaining policies. Although not required to buy through the exchange, doing so gives them group-purchasing power. Lower-income people are eligible for state subsidies."
The Los Angeles Times and the New York Times recently published opinion pieces examining issues related to international women"s health. Summaries appear below.~ Michelle Goldberg, Los Angeles Times: The solution to addressing issues of over-population and under-population in various parts of the world is "giving women more control over their fertility and their lives," Goldberg, author of "The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power and the Future of the World," writes in a Times opinion piece. Goldberg says that both problems are "symptoms of countries" failures to meet women"s needs." Citing United Nations data, Goldberg writes that the world"s population is growing at an "unsustainable" rate of 78 million people annually, and it will probably continue to increase by 70 million or 75 million annually through 2020. Almost all of that growth will occur in developing countries, she says. "The ethical and effective way to counter rapid population growth is to bolster women"s rights and improve their access to family planning," as well as access to education, Goldberg writes, adding that "study after study has found that girls who go to school marry later and have fewer, healthier children." Meanwhile, some developed countries -- including Japan, Russia, Italy and Spain -- are seeing a decline in birth rates, a fact that some social conservatives are using "to argue for restrictions on women"s rights." According to Goldberg, "Fertility is reaching dangerously low levels in countries where social attitudes and institutions haven"t caught up with women"s desire to combine work and family. When faced with men who are unwilling to share domestic burdens, inflexible workplaces and day-care shortages, many women respond by having fewer children." However, "when societies make it possible for women to combine having children with pursuing their other ambitions, fertility rates are fine," Goldberg says. She adds, "Give women freedom and support, and they will find reproductive equilibrium, so that when societies do shrink or grow, they do so in a manageable way" (Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 5/17).~ Nicholas Kristof, New York Times: About 500,000 women "die annually from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth without attracting much interest because the victims are typically among the most voiceless people in the world: impoverished, rural, uneducated and female," Kristof writes in a Times opinion piece. He adds, "It"s no mystery how to save the lives of pregnant women; what"s lacking is the will and res." Kristof writes that Sierra Leone, which has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world, "is now making progress with the help of the United Nations Population Fund." Former President George W. Bush cut off U.S. funding for UNFPA, but President Obama has restored the funding. Kristof adds that a bill (H.R. 1410) that would "establish American leadership in this area ... has attracted pathetically little attention." He continues that if the lives of women in West Africa "were a priority, there would be many simple ways to keep them alive," such as providing them with bed nets to help protect against malaria or iron tablets to fight anemia at a cost of "just a few dollars" (Kristof, New York Times, 5/17).
Twenty-six people representing a coalition of five HIV/AIDS groups from Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York were arrested on Thursday for unlawfully demonstrating in the Capitol rotunda, the AP/Washington Post reports (7/9). According to Politico, the protestors were demanding "congressional action on three AIDS priorities: the end of the federal ban on syringe exchange, increased housing funding for [people living with AIDS] and significant increases in U.S. international AIDS contributions" (McGrane, 7/9). The group contends that the Obama "administration"s budget proposal "essentially flatlines global AIDS funding,"" CNN.com reports. In a statement, Omolola Adele-Oso of DC Fights Back, said, "HIV is not in recession. So why are we bailing out the bankers with $9 trillion, but breaking promises to fund life-saving AIDS programs in the U.S. and around the world at a fraction of that cost?" (7/9).
MMWR Examines Polio Eradication In India
Results from two large studies using DHA, an omega 3 fatty acid, were reported at the Alzheimer"s Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer"s Disease (ICAD 2009) in Vienna.
In 2008, the U.S. Department of Agriculture spent $31 million to depopulate herds of cattle affected by bovine tuberculosis (TB), even though the risk of the disease has been significantly reduced in the U.S. over the past several decades. Worldwide, especially in developing countries, the disease persists, which could threaten the U.S. cattle industry in terms of international trade.
Infections of wounds, pneumonia, etc. in hospitals in particular are often caused by bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Once they reach a certain density, colonies of Pseudomonas aeruginosa produce virulence factors and can enter into a slimy state, a biofilm, which prevents antibiotics from penetrating. The process of quorum sensing, which cells use to "sense" cell density, is triggered when the concentration of certain signaling compounds generated by the bacteria reaches a threshold level. A team working with Rustem F. Ismagilov at the University of Chicago has now demonstrated that the absolute number of cells is irrelevant; only the number of bacteria in a given volume plays a role. As the researchers report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, they were even able to trigger quorum-sensing processes in single cells when these were confined in extremely small volumes.
Top researchers from the West Midlands are working to improve the treatment of conditions that affect millions of people. Across the region research into areas such as osteoarthritis, joint pain and sciatica, stroke prevention and treatment, community care for people living with diabetes, and the treatment of liver disease have received a real boost over the last three years.